PREVIEW

Before the Ukrainian national team’s first match of EURO 2024, the Ukrainian Association of Football has displayed a destroyed stand from Kharkiv's Sonyachny stadium at the Wittelsbacherplatz in Munich.

Sonyachny was originally built for EURO 2012, and was destroyed by Russian troops in May 2022. The damaged stand has travelled across Europe to testify to the world that football is not beyond the war: to date, 500 sports infrastructure facilities in Ukraine have suffered from Russian bombings and missile strikes.

"When I was the coach of the national team, we often came to Kharkiv for training; we prepared for the EURO 2021 qualifiers at Sonyachny. Learning that the stadium was destroyed felt like finding out your home was ruined," shares Andriy Shevchenko, President of the Ukrainian Association of Football and Ballon d'Or winner.

"However, even if football pitches or stands cannot withstand Russian shells, we will never stop standing for our country and telling the world about this ruthless war. I believe that Ukraine will still host international competitions in its stadiums."

The stand is presented alongside an interactive installation: visitors will be able to read and hear the story of Sonyachny. The stadium was the training base for the Dutch national team during EURO 2012, and later became the main training stadium for the Ukrainian national team. In real time, VR headsets will transport visitors to the stadium to see how it looks after the Russian strike.

After Munich, the stand will go on a tour of German cities, with its next stop being Düsseldorf. There,on June 21, the Ukrainian national team will play its second match at EURO 2024 against Slovakia.